“I’ve got them.”
“I hate leaving you guys to close,” I say automatically.
“We’ll manage,” Amber replies with an easy smile. “Go home.”
Rose nods. “And remember to kiss the little one goodnight for us too!”
I hesitate.
Part of being the unofficial manager here means I feel responsible for everything that happens in this building. Leaving before the last guest walks out always feels like abandoning my ship halfway through a storm.
But another image rises in my mind immediately.
Noah. Waiting at home. The sitter watching the clock.
My entire life runs on tight timing like this. One missed step and the whole balancing act collapses.
“Okay,” I say finally.
Amber points toward the door.
“Move.”
I grab my bag from the staff locker and take one last look around the restaurant.
The mafia table has moved to the lounge area near the bar. Matteo and Giovanni are talking quietly over drinks. Leone stands behind Niccolò Neri’s chair like a silent shadow.
And Niccolò himself…
He looks up.
Just briefly.
Our eyes meet across the room again.
Then someone says something to him and his attention shifts away.
I push the moment out of my mind and head for the door.
There are exactly thirteen minutes left until midnight.
I makeit home with one minute to spare.
The apartment building looks exactly the same as it always does when I return after a long shift: quiet hallway, flickering overhead light, someone’s TV murmuring faintly through a wall. The building isn’t dangerous, exactly, but it’s the kind of place where you learn to keep your keys ready in your hand and your head down when you walk through the lobby.
By the time I unlock my apartment door, my entire body feels like it has been running on fumes for the last four hours.
Gabby is already standing in the living room with her jacket on.
She looks up from her phone when I walk in.
“Oh, hey,” she says. Her thumbs keep moving across the screen even while she talks. “I was literally about to head out.”
“I’m sorry,” I say quickly. “It was a crazy night at the restaurant.”
“Yeah, I figured.”
She sends another message and finally looks up again.
